State of Emergency Declared for Greece’s Energy Grid

Heavy winter in the Balkans blamed for acute energy shortages

Greece’s energy grid has been placed under a state of emergency because of “a major deficiency” in natural gas supplies, caused by a jump in demand for natural gas and electricity throughout the Balkans, due to abnormally heavy winter.

Disaster Calendar 2012 – February 17

[February 17, 2012]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,489 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Greece. The country’s energy grid has been placed under a state of emergency because of “a major deficiency” in natural gas supplies, caused by a jump in demand for natural gas and electricity throughout the Balkans, due to abnormally heavy winter.
  • “The energy sufficiency problems have arisen as a result of the discontinuation of electricity exports to Greece by Bulgaria (since Friday) and FYROM (since Monday), the limited operation of hydroelectric units in order to conserve water reserves, which are already low, for the summer, problems in the country’s supply with natural gas from the pipeline via Turkey, and low temperatures in the country resulting in increased energy demand for heating given that consumers have turned to air conditioners and heaters rather than central heating due to high heating oil prices,” said a report.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

• War on Nature: Danube Dynamited
• Europe’s Big Freeze Deepens: Hundreds Dead
• Deadly Freeze: Bosnia Declares a State of Emergency
• State of Emergency Declared in S. Bulgaria after Severe Flooding
• The Death of Homo Sapiens Sapiens (Part 1)

 

Birth defects in China could rise by 66 pct

China’s pollution-related birth defects could reach 242 per 10,000 this year

The the number of birth defects in China is increasing at an alarming rate.

According to a report published in 2009:

• The coal-mining Shanxi province had the largest number of birth defects.
• A 2007 commission report covering the five-year period from 2001 to 2006 recorded a 40% rise in the rate of defects from about 105 per 10,000 births to 146.
•  Defective births accounted for up to 6 percent of total every year,  China’s family planning agency said. About 30 percent of the victims die and 40 percent are disabled.
• A child is born with physical defects every 30 seconds because of the environmental pollution.
• “Birth defects are now the single biggest killer of infants on the mainland,” Professor Hu Yali of Nanjing University told the Nanjing Morning Post.
• At least 1.2 million babies are born in China with “visible defects” each year.

Researchers said emissions from Shanxi’s massive coal and chemical industry, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulates, was responsible for the defects.

“The problem of birth defects is related to environmental pollution, especially in eight main coal zones,” said An Huanxiao, the director of Shanxi family planning office.

Ming Yuan 2/04  –  Ming Yuan is a boy who was born with hydrocephalus or more commonly, “water on the brain”.  This is a serious birth defect and can cause mental retardation if left unchecked.  Ming Yuan had received a shunt before we got him so the excess fluid is going into a body cavity, relieving pressure on his brain.  He is a fussy little guy who demands lots of attention from his caregivers as well as visitors.  I think he has become aware of the “squeaky wheel” syndrome and is becoming a master at it! Image and caption courtesy of China Dream Home

Meanwhile the energy demand in China has risen almost exponentially. The electricity demand is set to rise by about 40 gigawatts over the capacity this summer, officials said.

More than 70 percent of China’s electricity is generated in coal-burning plants, and the official announcement has prompted China’s Railway Ministry to deploy more trains to transport coal around the country.

Based on the available data on China’s ever increasing demand for electricity, and projection of previous national birth figures, FIRE-EARTH estimates that the number of birth defects over the 2006-2011 period could climb to 242 per 10,000 births, a 66 percent rise compared with the previous period.

Related Links

• China birth defects rise steeply
• Carbon Footprint of Your Dollar
• Index of Human Impact on Nature
• World Problems:The Root Cause Matrix

Mother Nature 3 – NZ 0

Electricity Shortages in New Zealand

New Zealand is facing electricity shortages unless sufficient rain recharges its hydro catchments, the government [sic] said.

“Unless we have some increased inflows in the South Island hydro catchments in the next three weeks, further conservation measures will have to be looked at,” the Energy Minister [sic] said.

South Island hydro power facilities provide about two thirds of New Zealand’s electricity. According to a wholesale electricity market operator, storage in hydro-electric lakes is about 40 percent below average. As a result the price of electricity jumped by 30.6 percent to $215.26 per megawatt hour.

Location map of Taupo, New Zealand

In the 2003 power crisis, the government had planned to cut residential hot water supplies, followed by rolling power cuts for residential users, and blackouts.

Rio Tinto’s Tiwai Point aluminum smelter, located in New Zealand’s South Island, consumes about 15 percent of the country’s electricity.

Farm Produce

Earlier this month Bloomberg reported that the prolonged drought in New Zealand, the worst in 20 years, had cut farm production and more than doubled the power prices this year. New Zealand’s energy demand peaks June through August during the hemisphere winter months due to heating use. Hydro-power lakes have been below average since November 2007.

In April 2008, lake Taupo was 18 percent below average. Lake Pukaki was 40 percent below average. Lake Manapouri, which is used to supply Rio Tinto’s Tiwai Point aluminum smelter, was 45 percent below its usual levels.

Continuing drought in New Zealand and Australia, as well as a falling production in the UK and a weak dollar, are raising the prices of milk and dairy products globally. In the past 12 months the price of milk has increased by 32 percent, eggs by 40 percent and wholewheat bread by 26 percent.

Earthquake hit south of Macquarie Island

Meanwhile, in a triple whammy, a 5.9-magnitude quake hit 2100 km (1300 miles) S of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, earlier today close to a major fault line. Recent increased seismic activities N, NW and SE of New Zealand do not bode well for the country. The earthquakes may result in a period intense volcanic activity in New Zealand in the coming weeks.

Related links:

• NZ govt eyes power-saving measures after dry spell
• New Zealand Rain Fails to Ease Risk of Power Shortage (Update1)
• Volcanoes, Santorini Eruption and Crops Failure in China
• Mt Ruapehu Eruption Alert

santorini